Vacuum cleaner



Sept. 25, 1962 o. H. HALLSTRGM VACUUM CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 9, 1960 INVENTOR 04 1 ffumk 170% 714mm ff 1h,-

ATTORNEY Sept. 25, 1962 Filed March 9. 1960 0. H. HALLsTROM VACUUM CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Fig.2

INVENTOR Hf/l #Gd/M ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice 3,055,161 VACUUM CLEANER Olof Henrik Hallstriim, Kammakaregatan 6, Stockholm, Sweden Filed Mar. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 13,954 7 Claims. (Cl. 55-356) The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner constructed as a vehicle comprising a dust collecting container mounted below a dust filter and adapted to be released and withdrawn on being moved substantially horizontally from the remaining major part of the vacuum cleaner, a motor fan unit and a filter mounted in said major part, and means, such as clamping means for connecting the container to the major part. Vacuum cleaners hitherto known (usually so called industrial vacuum cleaners) of this type are separable in a top section and a bottom section, and when the dust container located in the bottom section is to be emptied, the top section must be lifted off so that the interior of the dust con tainer becomes accessible. As this kind of vacuum cleaners often are large, the top section becomes rather heavy, for which reason a tiresome work is involved in lifting 01f and remounting the top section.

The invention has for its primary object to eliminate this inconvenience. According to the invention the supporting vehicle substructure of the vacuum cleaner is composed of two parts, one of which is mounted at or comprises a portion of said dust collecting container and is adapted to carry independently said container during its horizontal releasing motion and in its position released from the major part, while the other part is mounted at the lower section of said major part and is adapted to carry independently this major part after the dust collecting container has been released from said major part, said two parts of the vehicle substructure being arranged in the position wherein the dust collecting container is connected to the major part, to carry jointly the entire vacuum cleaner, an intake for the dust entraining air opening in such a way into said major part of the vacuum cleaner above the dust collecting container that this flange need not be moved at the horizontal releasing motion of the dust collecting container. Thus, when the latter is to be emptied, the top section need not be lifted off; it is sufificient to release the connecting means of the dust container and subsequently to move this container to the desired dumping place, while the remaining and considerably heavier part of the vacuum cleaner, including the filter and the motor fan unit, may remain in their original places.

It is known per se to arrange the intake on the dust container proper so that the flange accompanies the dust container at the releasing motion of the latter. The inconveniences involved herewith are the fact that the vacuum cleaner hose must be detached and that the air thus sucked in laterally into the dust container will whirl up the dust in the container. Consequently, this positioning of the intake will also greatly reduce the capacity of the dust collecting container since the container cannot be filled with dust to a higher level than the lower edge of the intake. In these respects the present invention ofiers considerable advantages by the intake being disposed above the dust collecting container, completely free from the same.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings wherein FIG. 1 illustrates a longitudinal section of the vacuum cleaner and FIG. 2 a cross section of the vacuum cleaner taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

For the sake of simplicity several details nonessential to the invention have been omitted in the drawings.

3,055,151 Patented Sept; 25, 1962 In the drawing, 1 denotes the detachable dust container and 2 a cover or top section which carries the filter 3 and forms a unit with a casing 4, which in turn accommodates or carries the resiliently suspended motor fan unit 13 together with pertaining controls 14 and electric connecting members (not shown). The lower portion of the casing 4'- is covered by a bottom hood 4a.

At its front end the cover 2 is provided with a connecting flange 5 for the suction hose 6. The flange 5 is extended inwardly by a duct 7 which directs the air sucked in downwards towards the duct container 1.. -At the rear end of the vacuum cleaner there is an outlet opening (not shown) for the exhaust air. This opening may e.g. consist of gratings of inclined slats disposed in the casing 4 so as to deflect the air in the desired direction.

The filter 3 supported by the cover consists of frames 8 and 9 of which the frame 8 may be detachably mounted at the lower edge of the cover 2 by means of an angle 10, while the frame 9 is adapted to move in relation to the frame 8 in order to enable the filter cloth 11 to be shaken, said cloth being supported in longitudinal folds by the frames 8, 9. To this purpose the frame 9 carries a cross bar 12 which may be operated by a rod 15. This rod extends through the cover 2 and carries at its external end a handle 16 which may be sealingly screwed into a socket 1.6a when the shaking device is not used. In this position the frames 8, 9 are rigidly secured to one another. A spring, housed in a cover 17 and interposed between the rod 15 and the cross bar 12, tends to maintain the filter cloth in a stretched condition during operation of the vacuum cleaner and is further arranged so as to displace the rod 15 upwards when the handle 16 is disengaged from the socket Thus the bar will project a certain distance above the surface of the cover whereby shaking of the filter cloth may be performed by reciprocating the rod 15 upwards and downwards.

Between the cover or top section 2 and the dust container there is disposed a suitable sealing strip 18 which may be supported either by the cover or by the dust container and which sealingly engages the edges of the cover as well as those of the dust container. A suitable locking mechanism is provided for retaining the dust container 1 to the cover or top section 2 and at the same time to force these members against said sealing strip. FIG. 1 shows an example of such a device in the form of one or more locking hooks 19 on clamping levers 20 pivotally carried on the dust container. These hooks may be caused to engage corresponding eyes or holes 21 on brackets or the like secured to the cover 2. Of course the clamping levers may instead by secured to the cover and the eye bracket to the dust container. At the rear the dust container carries one or more gussets 22, at the ends of which rollers 23 are mounted which, on pushing the dust container under the cover 2, will slide upwards on an inclined surface 24 of the casing 4 to be supported and fixed in their final position in a recess 24a in this surface. Hereby also the rear portion of the dust container 1 is forced against the sealing member 18. In order to increase the pressure, the gusset 22 may be made of resilient material, in which case its top edge or, respectively, the possibly resilient or resiliently mounted roller 23 should be arranged so as to afford the desired spring pressure. Furthermore, the gusset 22; should be guided laterally, for instance, by inclined guide planes or other guide means, so that the gusset or the dust container, respectively, are guided into the proper lateral position to the cover.

In the dust container there is a dust bag 25 adapted to collect the dust shaken and fallen down from the filter 3. The bag may be made of any desired material, e.g. fabric, paper, cellulose, plastic or the like, and it is detachably carried in and supported by the dust container, for in- 3 stance, by being suspended by means of holes 25a from books 26 at the top edge of the dust container. The sealing member member 18 should be slightly overlap the top edge of the bag in order to prevent air from passing between the container =1 and the bag 25.

The dust container 1 is suitably carried on wheels 27, preferably with one pivot wheel which assists in supporting the entire vacuum cleaner when the dust container is secured to the remaining portion of the vacuum cleaner. When the vacuum cleaner is released from the section 2 it may be driven on these wheels to the desired place. In doing so the gusset 22 may possibly serve as a handle. In addition, there are wheels 28 under the casing 4, 4a disposed in such a way to the centre of gravity of the unit comprising parts 2, 3, 4, 4a, 13 that this unit will not tilt forwardly when the container 1 is removed.

The vacuum cleaner may be provided with a handle or guide-rod 29, which suitably is detachable or pivotable so that it may be moved in towards the top side of the cover 2 when not used. For this purpose the guide-rod may be mounted in a sleeve 30 and adapted to be locked in the desired position by means of a screw 31 or the like. Preferably, the guide-rod is also provided with hooks for suspending an electric connection cable leading to the motor.

It is to advantage to arrange the filter cloth 11 in 1ongitudi-nal folds, as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vacuum cleaner, so as to enlarge the filter area to facilitate collection of the dust in the dust container.

What I claim is:

l. A vacuum cleaner comprising, in combination, a housing including a first portion and a second portion projecting from said first portion and having a bottom face located above the level of the bottom face of said first portion, said second portion having at said bottom face thereof a peripheral flange defining an opening; filter means in said second portion extending transversely over said opening and gas-tightly connected to said flange; suction means in said first portion for sucking air through said opening and said filter means; first wheel means mounted on said first portion extending below said bottom face thereof and being turnable about a single axis so as to support said housing tiltable about said axis, said first wheel means having a lowermost peripheral portion spaced from the plane of said bottom face of said second portion a predetermined distance; a dust container disposed beneath the bottom face of said second portion of said housing and having an upper edge defining an opening and having a configuration substantially identical to that of said flange; second wheel means mounted on said dust container turnable about a second single axis and supporting said dust container tiltable about said second axis anad movable toward and away from said housing, said second wheel means having a lowermost peripheral portion spaced from the plane of said upper edge of said dust container a distance equal to said predetermined distance; and releasable means for securing said duct container and said housing in fixed position relative to each other so that said dust container and housing form a single unit movable along the floor with said first and second wheel means supporting said unit and for simultaneously pressing said upper edge of said dust container gas-tightly against said flange of said second portion of said housing, whereby during connection of said dust container to said housing and pressing of said upper edge of said dust container against said flange of said housing said dust container has not to be raised.

2. A vacuum cleaner comprising, in combination, a housing including a first portion having an end wall and a second portion projecting from said end wall of said first portion and having a bottom face located above the level of the bottom face of said first portion, said second portion having at said bottom face thereof a peripheral flange defining an opening; filter means in said second portion extending transversely over said opening and gastightly connected to said flange; suction means in said first portion for sucking air through said opening and said filter means; first wheel means mounted on said first portion extending below said bottom face thereof and being turnable about a single axis so as to support said housing tiltable about said axis, said first wheel means having a lowermost peripheral portion spaced from the plane of said bottom face of said second portion a predetermined distance; a dust container disposed beneath the bottom face of said second portion of said housing and having an upper edge defining an opening and having a configuration substantially identical to that of said flange, and said dust container having an end wall facing said end wall of said first portion of said housing; second wheel means mounted on said dust container turnable about a second single axis and supporting said dust container tiltable about said second axis and movable toward and away from said housing, said second wheel means having a lowermost peripheral portion spaced from the plane of said upper edge of said dust container a distance equal to said predetermined distance; and releasable means for securing said dust container and said housing in fixed position relative to each other so that said dust container and housing form a single unit movable along the floor with said first and second wheel means supporting said unit and for simultaneously pressing said upper edge of said dust container gas-tightly against said flange of said second portion of said housing, said releasable means comprising a recess in said end wall of said first portion in said housing, a projection secured to said end wall of said dust container and located in said recess, and detachable means on portions of said dust container and said housing opposite said end walls thereof, whereby during connection of said dust container to said housing and pressing of said upper edge of said dust container against said flange of said housing said dust container has not to be raised.

3. A vacuum cleaner comprising, in combination, a housing including a first portion having an end wall and a second portion projecting from said end wall of said first portion and having a bottom face located above the level of the bottom face of said first portion, said second portion having at said bottom face thereof a peripheral flange defining an opening; filter means in said second portion extending transversely over said opening and gastightly connected to said flange; suction means in said first portion for sucking air through said opening and said filter means; first wheel means mounted on said first portion extending below said bottom face thereof and being turnable about a single axis so as to support said housing tiltable about said axis, said first wheel means having a lowermost peripheral portion spaced from the plane of said bottom face of said second portion a predetermined distance; a dust container disposed beneath the bottom face of said second portion of said housing and having an upper edge defining an opening and having a configuration substantially identical to that of said fiange, said dust container having an end wall facing said end wall of said first portion of said housing; second wheel means mounted on said dust container turnable about a second single axis and supporting said dust container tiltable about said second axis and movable toward and away from said housing, said second wheel means having a lowermost peripheral portion spaced from the plane of said upper edge of said dust container a distance equal to said predetermined distance; and releasable means for securing said dust container and said housing in fixed position relative to each other so that said dust container and housing form a single unit movable along the floor with said first and second wheel means supporting said unit and for simultaneously pressing said upper edge of said dust container gas-tightly against said flange of said second portion of said housing, said releasable means comprising a recess in said end wall of said first portion in said housing and having a downwardly inclined surface, a projection secured to said end wall of said dust container and located in said recess and having an end portion engaging said downwardly inclined surface during movement of said dust container toward said housing so as to press a portion of said upper edge of said dust container above said projection against a corresponding portion of said flange, and detachable means on portions of said dust container and said housing opposite said end walls thereof, whereby during connection of said dust container to said housing and pressing of said upper edge of said dust container against said flange of said housing said dust container has not to be raised.

4. An arrangement as defined in claim 3 and including a roller turnably mounted on said end portion of said projection and adapted to rollingly engage said inclined surface of said recess.

5. An arrangement as defined in claim 2 in which said projection is formed from resilient material.

6. An arrangement as defined in claim 2 in which said detachable means comprises an eye member secured to one of said portions and a toggle lever including a hook member mounted on the other of said portions located opposite said end walls, said hook member releasably engaging said eye member.

7. An arrangement as defined in claim 1 in which said suction means comprise a motor and fan unit arranged along a common axis intersecting the axis of said first wheel means and located when said housing and dust container are connected to each other in a substantially vertical plane, and handle means projecting from said first portion of said housing in a direction opposite to said second portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,993,231 Tunstall Mar. 5, 1935 2,326,731 Paine Aug. 10, 1943 2,591,567 Lofgren et a1 Apr. 1, 1952 2,678,462 Lison et a1 May 18, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES Germany, German printed application C5375, May 9, 1956. 

